Hyouka - Volume 03 - The Kudryavka Sequence - Welcome to KANYA FESTA!

This is because rice isn't a really sensational product, much like our anthology right now, which
wasn't exactly a necessary commodity. So the situation the Classics Club is facing is quite similar to
this.

In order for rice to be sold in large quantities, it has to be of "very good quality." This "quality" may
be based on its "tastiness," its "safety," or its "affordability."

However, "Hyouka" was already a finished product. Though we were extremely diligent in ensuring
its quality, there was no way we could further enhance it anymore than it is. The only variable left that
we could manipulate would be its "affordability," but we would prefer not to adjust the price so much
that it falls below our break-even point.

In order to improve the quality of "Hyouka," I decided to consider it from the standpoint of the
public's awareness of it.

And so, my eyes fell on the Special Edition of the wall newspaper, the Kami High Monthly. Upon
reading some of its details, it seems to be published once every two hours. If "Hyouka" gets a mention
on here, then everyone would become aware of it. Fortunately, I am acquainted with the president of
the Wall Newspaper Club. Even I at least know that having connections can take you a long way.

Anyway, as lunch time had already been over for some time, I was busy looking for the Wall
Newspaper Club president...

"Hey, Chitanda-san, wanna go see that?"

"Ehh? I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry."

"All right ladies and gentlemen, the second Magic Club performance will begin in five minutes!"

...Oh, yes, I was heading to the Wall Newspaper Club. I heard someone chatting behind me.

"Have you seen the movie made by Class 2-F yet?"

"Yeah, I have. Pretty interesting, wasn't it?"

Ugh.

All these decorations and all this liveliness is just too captivating. It was at this moment that I envied
Oreki-san's ability to not get excited by anything.

Before long, I'd come before the Biology Room on the third floor of the Special Block, where the
Wall Newspaper Club room was located. Though right now, their members were in the adjacent
Preparation Room instead of the Lecture Room, where they had their pens, scissors, glues and instant
cameras laying around. Surrounding a table normally used for school experiments were four
members, who didn't seem rather busy as they chatted leisurely. One of them, Toogaito Masashi-san,
with whom I was acquainted, noticed my presence and stood up.

Though I'm quite tall for a girl, even I had to look up when looking at Toogaito-san. His father was
well-acquainted with mine, which was how I knew him. Though it wasn't until this July that we spoke
for the first time.

With a smile, Toogaito-san greeted me.

"Hello there,"

I bowed my head. Careful not to make the same mistake I made with Tanabe-san, I chose my words
carefully.

"Good afternoon, Toogaito-san. Can the Wall Newspaper Club please write a story about the
Classics Club?"

However, even Toogaito-san's eyes went wide after what I said. I wonder what it was that I said
wrong? Frantically recalling what I had just said, I couldn't find anything disrespectful about it.

Oh no... I just realized, did I forget to explain my situation properly again?

Toogaito-san turned to glance at the other club members before turning back to me and said in a
lowered voice, "...What's with this all of a sudden? It's not really possible."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would it have been better if I had made an appointment first?"

"No, that's not what I meant,"

Toogaito-san rubbed his forehead and said, "I'm no longer with the Wall Newspaper Club."

"Eh?"

"I'm a third year, so I'm retired already."

Oh.

H-how did I not notice that before? This would of course be natural. It's completely obvious.

"I-I'm sorry."

"No, you don't really have to apologize..."

For a moment, I felt like I was of no help, and was feeling a bit depressed. But soon a fine idea came
to my head. If Toogaito-san had retired, then this could work.

"Then, could you introduce me to one of your juniors so that I may make my request to him instead?"

However, Toogaito-san looked even more troubled than before.

"Well, I can introduce you, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference."

"Not much of a difference?"

"Our Special Edition goes up every two hours, so we have to get everything prepared before then. So
to ask us to write something about the Classics Club now would be a bit too much, you see."

I see. Indeed, while I thought of the possibility of getting mentioned in a Special Edition every two
hours, I totally did not consider the fact that they would need to prepare a draft edition beforehand.

So I said in resignation, "So it's impossible?"

I could hear myself sounding depressed.

"Well, I didn't exactly say it's impossible. As we should still have two more days of news to report, it
can be done. However," Toogaito-san said with a tense expression, "We won't publish a story just
because we've been asked to. There are over 50 clubs being represented in the Kanya Festival;
there's no way we could introduce every one of them, so we have to give priority to those whose
activities really stand out. That being said, if you could show us that the Classics Club is engaged in
activities that stand out, then we'll write something about it."

It was a strict statement concerning the conditions on having a story written.

"T-then, what about the contents of the activities?"

"The club activities that we cover are all serious in their contents, so if we find a story request that is
worthy of our interest like an ad-balloon, then we'll publish it."

But we haven't got any ad-balloons.

A while ago, Fukube-san had clearly emphasized about the origin of the term "Kanya Festival." Yet
Toogaito-san said he only covers serious club activities. Yet besides its name, there wasn't really
much in its contents which "Hyouka" could really be called attractive...

I'm sorry, Oreki-san and Fukube-san, I also do not know how to face Mayaka-san as well. Once
again, I found myself unable to be of much help.

"...I see. Sorry for taking your time..."

As though trying to cheer me up, Toogaito-san said, "You can come back if you can find anything
interesting, I'll see what I can do to help."

I think I nodded, but I wasn't even sure if I had the strength to move.

As things were not making any progress, it seemed my body had also lost its strength. But it would not

be nice to trudge just because of that, so I tried my best to walk as I normally would. Though I wonder
if my discouragement would still show on my face. Walking along the decorated corridor, not
knowing where to go next, I heard someone calling out to me.

"What's wrong, Eru? You look quite depressed."

Looking up, I saw a small tent set up on top of the staircase. To be more precise, it looked more like a
Native American teepee. The voice came from inside the teepee. The inside of the teepee could be
seen from the outside.

"You were drooping your shoulders and looking disappointed. Did something happen?"

Inside of the teepee was a regular classroom desk, and seated on the chair was a person I was
familiar with.

I smiled at her and said, "Well, a lot has happened..."

"Hmm?"

She tilted her head and smiled as she caressed an elegant looking crystal ball lying on top of a silk
cloth on her des

"Then, how about having your fortune told?"

This person is Juumonji Kaho. Within Kamiyama City is a large and rather old shrine called Arekusu
Shrine, and Kaho-san is the daughter of its head priest. While the Chitanda family's annual spring and
autumn festival ceremonies aren't held at Arekusu Shrine, as I often meet her a lot, we ended up being
well acquainted with each other. She was quite an attractive person, with her silky hair and small
glasses. I liked the unique way Kaho-san often looked mature and polite.

Kaho-san had liked visiting the library ever since she was little, and so she was very knowledgeable
in many things which I was unaware of. So I was quite surprised when I learned which club she had
joined. Since Kaho-san wasn't quite good with hanging out with other people.

"Having my fortune told? That means..."

"Yes, this is the Fortune Telling Association stall."

"Where are the other members?"

Upon hearing that, Kaho-san made a rather cynical smile.

"Oh, it's just me at the moment."

"Eh, that's unexpected. But isn't it supposed to be popular?"

"That would be the Charms Association. They're the more popular club."

Speaking of which, I do recall seeing such a club being mentioned in the notice board.
"Well, how about it?"
As she spoke, Kaho-san began lining up objects on her table.
"If the crystal ball isn't to your fancy, then how about bamboo stick or card divination? Though these
are just imitations. There's also coffee grounds divination and of course, the standard Tarot cards..."
As she rummaged through the items in a paper bag beside her feet, she suddenly stopped.
"Oh, we can't do Tarot cards today."
"Eh? Why's that?"
Hearing Kaho-san sound troubled for once piqued my interest. This was due to the Classics Club
having once discussed Tarot cards back in the summer holidays, so I was thinking maybe we could
have our fortunes told with Tarot cards.
Kaho-san saw my expression and understood right away.
"...Of course, you've always liked stuff like this. Here, have a look at this."
She took out a greeting card from her paper bag. Taking a glance at the card she showed me, I saw
everything that was written on it, as it was in a rather large font, which read:

The Fortune Telling Association has lost its Wheel of Fortune.
Juumoji

"What's this...?"
"It's quite a quick job if this is the work of one person. I only just left for a bit, and when I came back,
someone had taken the 'Wheel of Fortune' card from my Tarot deck and left this."
So it was stolen? But the signature at the end of the card...
"It says 'Juumonji'."
"Indeed, I wonder if it's supposed to be addressed to me?"
The Juumonji family has two children, but right now, only Kaho-san is attending Kami High, and I've
not heard of any other person called Juumonji in this city besides them. So Kaho-san is the only

Juumonji in Kamiyama High. It would be incredible for a thief to use Kaho-san's name to steal her
things.

It's all very strange. I decided to ask her something which I had meant to ask just now.

"Have you found the card yet?"

Kaho-san smiled bitterly.

"I wouldn't have said we couldn't use Tarot cards today if I had found it."

Oh, yes, of course.

"That's very worrying."

"Yes, though it's cheap, it's still a fortune-telling tool. I really wouldn't want to have to go through the
trouble of acquiring another set as a result."

While saying that, instead of rummaging through her paper bag, Kaho-san took out a small memo
paper from her pocket.

"But I wouldn't worry too much about that. I do wonder what the thief is up to, as this was also left
behind,"

It was a memo paper torn from a notebook, on which was scribbled, "It will be returned after the
Cultural Festival." ...This was indeed a strange thing for a thief to do. I do find it very odd. Looking at
my expression, Kaho-san smiled.

"You seem to have cheered up a bit."

"Really?"

"Are you curious about this?"

I tilted my head

"...Yes, a bit."

"A bit, huh? Then let me show you one more thing."

From her paper bag, she took out something which I also had, the "Kanya Festival Guide," the official
pamphlet for the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival.

Looking at it placed beside the crystal ball, I asked, "What's special about it?"

Kaho-san opened the pamphlet.

"The contents are exactly the same as any other. Though when I found it, it was open with the card

placed on the last page of the club comments."

The participating club comments were printed on the last page of the pamphlet. As its name suggests,
it displayed a single line of comment from each participating club mentioned by the pamphlet.

Apart from that, there was nothing strange or special written on the page.

"...I wonder what it all means?"

Kaho-san smiled gently and shrugged her shoulders.

"I wonder. It's the Cultural Festival, someone's bound to come up with some strange ideas, so it's
nothing out of the ordinary. Personally, I couldn't care less as long as the 'Wheel of Fortune' is
returned safely."

019 - ♣07

The finals consist of contestants racing each other in pushing the answer button, first to win seven
points wins the race.

Though I did say it no longer mattered whether I won this quiz tournament anymore, this is an arena
where I can put my database to good use. So it's a waste to just throw it away like that.

The Quiz Club president did mention on the radio broadcast that they'd "prepared questions that not
just people who are good at quiz shows could answer," and now I see why he said that. Besides the
usual quiz-show like questions involving show business, sports, social matters and trendy stuff,
they've also included local topics as well as high school education related questions. I am of course
well-versed in local topics, though the academic questions were a bit... okay, I know what you're
thinking. For questions involving mathematical formulas, I was so pathetically hopeless with them
that I could not even move my fingers towards the answer button. How on earth did I manage to
weather through all these maths tests all these years?

Of the four contestants, three had taken six points, including me, Tani-kun and another girl. (While
Tani-kun couldn't answer the strange questions, he was rather fast in answering the more generic
ones.) The remaining person had five points. This was quite a fascinating battle; the contestants were
all rather capable. For the Quiz Club this was no doubt a successful tournament.

But now it's time to end this. I'll be taking this last point!

"...Now for the next question. Please name the president of Kamiyama..."
A local question, huh? Concentrate...
"...High School's Student Council..."
I know the answer to this question, but I can't push the button just yet. For she may be asking us to
name the president's favourite colour or something like that instead.
"...And give his full name please."
Now! At an instant, a light lit up.
"Yes, Shimizu-san?"
What? It's not me?
Shimizu-san, the girl beside me, answered in a calm voice, "Kugayama Muneyoshi."
"......"
Miss Announcer, you don't need to gasp, she's correct.
After a brief pause, the announcer lifted the girl's right arm and declared, "Correct! And the winner of
Quiz Trial 7 is Shimizu Noriko-san of Class 3-E!"
Haha. Oh well, too bad.

Only the winner gets to receive the prizes. And as Shimizu Noriko-san (who didn't even bat an eyelid
when answering the more odd questions. She's an interesting person, I must try and remember her
name) received hers wrapped in paper, I had no idea what it was. Oh well, I didn't feel bad about
losing, and I wasn't interested in the prizes anyway.
As the trophy presentation was finished, the Quiz Club president gave his greetings and wrapped up
the Quiz Trial tournament. The crowd then began to disperse to all directions of the school campus. It
sure was fun, not only did I raise the Classics Club's appeal, I also managed to have some fun as
well. Now, I wonder where I should go next. As I was prepared to return with a smile, someone
called out to me.
"Hey, Fukube."
It was Tani-kun. Smiling, I raised my arm to greet him.

"Hey, too bad we didn't win."

"Indeed. Guess it's a draw."

A draw, huh? It's not like I'm competing with Tani-kun... Oh well, whatever.

"Guess so," I replied.

"Well, you need something?"

"I did say I had something interesting to tell you before we were interrupted."

Come to think of it, he did say something like that, but I must have forgotten. As I wasn't really intent
on hearing what he wanted to say then, this must mean it's something Tani-kun wants me to hear. Since
it's no big deal, I decided to hear what he had to say.

"Seems to be so, did something happened with the Go Club?"

Tani-kun nodded satisfyingly.

"Yeah, some of our Go stones have been stolen."

"Oh?"

I wasn't exactly thinking "Is that so?"

"The stones weren't lost but stolen, you say? But what makes you say that?"

"The thief left a note on the Go stone container,"

Tani-kun smiled as he said, "The note read 'The Go Club has lost its Go stones,' it's all really
intriguing, as we have no idea whether any stones were stolen at all. As we don't normally use all the
stones in the container, so there's no way of knowing if someone were to take away one or two, or
even ten stones."

"Why would someone steal the stones?"

"Maybe he wants to play Gomoku?[2]" Tani-kun said in a rather strange way.

While I didn't find it to be a rather high-class joke, I decided to laugh along with him. If that's the end
of this "interesting" story, then he didn't really need to go out of his way to tell me.

I said bluntly with a smile, "Maybe it's a prank by someone from the Go Club?"

Perhaps not happy that I didn't seem interested with his story, Tani-kun looked a bit depressed.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Well, I'm off for now."
"No, wait."
He called out to me before I could move.
Tani-kun said with a strangely stiff smile, "Fukube, will you be participating in other tournaments as
well?"
"...Yeah."
As I nodded, Tani-kun raised his right arm and pointed his finger at me.
"I won't lose to you next time. It's not over since we only drew this time. We'll settle this!"
...I was at a loss for words.
Together with the silence, I could only give him my usual smile as a reply.
Tani-kun looked quite satisfied as he said, "Good. What will you be participating tomorrow?"
Without giving it much thought, I replied in a normal manner, "...The tournament held by The Cooking
Club tomorrow, I guess?"
"Okay, then we'll settle this tomorrow! I'm looking forward to this!"
Tani-kun waved his arms and left looking rather excited.

Phew, that sure was a hard to deal with fellow there.
A score to settle, huh? It never even crossed my mind. I was hardly concerned with how satisfied
Tani-kun would be with the outcome anyway.
It's true that I often enjoy myself in many things. Indeed, I would have so much fun that Houtarou
would end up staring coldly at me.
But what's most important is for me to experience this personally. I see enjoyment as basically a give-
and-take relationship between the provider and receiver of the entertainment. This is why I could
never be as fanatical in my interests, be it Sherlock Holmes or herbology, as my best friend (whoa,
this is quite embarrassing for me to actually utter it, but his is the first name I could think of) Houtarou
or the magnificent Mayaka.
I'm rather naive when it comes to things that I like, find interesting or enjoy. Using a bookshelf as an

example, normally a bookshelf would contain reference books or novels used to kill time, but in
comparison, my bookshelf is not worth showing to other people. (Though if it's Mayaka, she'd
probably want to have a look... But it's unlikely she would ever say it out loud.) Similarly, my
relationship with the provider of entertainment is simply to quietly have high expectations and taking
it easy as I enjoy myself.
So according to my psuedo-Epicureanism, this talk of "settling scores"...
Well, it's inelegant.
But this is all trivial, as I had no intention of giving it my all. To put it simply, Tani-kun is simply
participating in tournaments which I'm participating in out of his own accord.

I meandered to and fro as I left the now rather empty courtyard.
By the way, enjoying oneself and worrying about one's friends are totally different matters altogether.
I wonder how Houtarou's doing now?
And I wonder if Mayaka is doing fine?

Translator's notes and references

1. ↑ Wikipedia - Tsurezuregusa
2. ↑ Wikipedia - Gomoku

2-3 Yet Another Storm

020 - ♦04

I had originally wanted to just keep a low profile.

I totally did not intend to get into an argument with anyone.

It all began when Kouchi-sempai said to President Yuasa as the flow of customers started to
decrease, "Well, turns out it was a mistake to sell such plain stuff after all. Nobody's coming at all.
But it's not too late for us to change this and turn it around. We should have an anime character poster
outside. Since we're all so free anyway, it wouldn't take us a lot of time to draw one."

I didn't believe the reason there were so few customers was what she said. The anthology was selling
pretty well. However, it was indeed true that the stall was far from lively no matter how positively I
try to see things. I wasn't particularly against the idea of drawing an anime character poster in order
to attract customers; at least it's better than dressing up in skimpy cosplay to attract the boys.

But what I couldn't stand was Kouchi-sempai trying to bring the president into all of this, seeing as
how she was now being surrounded by Kouchi-sempai's followers. It looked as though she was being
protested against. Though President Yuasa merely smiled calmly, I wondered how she must have felt.

"You may be right, but this was what we all decided on doing..."

"It may have been decided, but not by majority consent. To begin with, what's with this anthology
anyway? A review of a hundred manga titles just sounds so tedious, who on earth is gonna read that?
We should have made more parody mangas instead."

Come to think of it, someone had suggested everyone in the Manga Club could try making their own
parody manga. Right now, there were a few of them lined up around the stalls. The reason why there
were so few of them was mainly because they were either not confident about displaying their works
in the Cultural Festival, or they did not want to end up making a loss. But to blame it on the presence
of Zeamis was just absurd.

Upon being told that no one would bother reading the anthology that I worked so hard on, the
atmosphere in the room became delicately tense. To begin with, Kouchi-sempai's group was entirely
uncooperative in the making of Zeamis. Uncooperative as in shoving the work to other people. Even
someone as lazy as Oreki still bothered to take time to write up the manuscript despite constantly
complaining about how bothersome it was, but Kouchi-sempai's followers were simply slacking off.
Even now, not a single one of them had offered to help sell it. There were quite a few people in the
club who found such behaviour revolting.

The only reason such sentiments had not erupted was due to Kouchi-sempai, who had herself

diligently worked on her own rather interesting column. She didn't even brag about the fact that she
had it completed within the day.

Extending her arms from within her long Taoist priest robes, Kouchi-sempai crossed them and looked
up as though preaching some truth.

"Even if we assume that there's no such thing as a boring manga, this would be like reading an
interesting manga a hundred times over. Anyone would get bored doing that. There's simply no
meaning to it, right?" she said, seeking approval from those around her. A chorus of barely audible
agreement could be heard, muttered by her followers. If you want to be a Yes Men, you could at least
be more assertive in your agreements.

But to say that it has no meaning, well...

Some of the members turned their gaze toward the sales booth where I was seated... While I was
indeed the only one who disagreed with Kouchi-sempai, I would have preferred they not look at me
like this.

Kouchi-sempai went on, "Besides, wouldn't it be better to use an anime character to capture
attention? Why does this gloomy anthology of all things have to be the centrepiece? We ought to have
something more flashy."

She then turned her gaze to the other members besides her own followers. Even as I sat silently at the
sales booth, our eyes met.

I didn't know whether it was my imagination, but when Kouchi-sempai looked at me, the corners of
her lips were raised.

Was she provoking me? Was that smile of hers just now a provocation?

Would Fuku-chan trust me? The thought flashed by in my head that he wouldn't. But it was true that all
this time during the Cultural Festival, I had behaved myself within the Manga Club, as I still had to
take care of the Classic Club's anthology.

But I was at my limit. I wondered why I ended up that way. Even I myself was surprised at how cold I
sounded as I remained seated and said, "What exactly do you mean when you say it's all meaningless,
sempai?"

Kouchi-sempai looked as though she had expected a response from me. Turning her back to President
Yuasa, she smiled and said, "It is meaningless regardless of whether it's interesting or not. Surely you
should understand the meaning of that, no?"

"I understand the meaning of your words, but I don't understand how you come to such a conclusion. I
spent a lot of time working on this anthology, and so have the others.

"I'm not asking for recognition for our hard work, but if you're going to declare all that meaningless,
then please at least elaborate on your reason for it."

On one side was Kouchi-sempai looking rather composed, while I on the other hand probably looked
snappy. I would probably look like an idiot to an outsider.

With a sneering smile, Kouchi-sempai took a step towards me.

"Yeah, maybe I was mistaken in saying it was meaningless. Sorry about that, Ibara, I was trying to say
it was too assertively harmful."

"Whichever it is, I would still like to hear why you think it is so."

"You see, I've been thinking,"

As though demonstrating to those around her, she waved her arms about.

"Not every manga ends up as a classic. Just because you like a title it doesn't make it a classic. Nine
hundred ninety nine people out of a thousand could have decided it was crap. Yet, you would
disregard such consensus and promote your own bias? That is what I call harmful."

For a while I hesitated at how to respond. A member who was standing beside me lashed out.

"How can you be so sure that is bias!?"

While I understood her sentiment, it was not the right moment for her to interject. Yet Kouchi-sempai
merely gave her a glance and ignored her. She could have easily countered the accusation of whether
the anthology was biased or not by giving a definition of what the word "bias" means. Still, she had
not chosen to do that.

This means she did not intend for the argument to be ambiguous.

I took a gulp and said, "Let me get this straight. You're trying to say we were being subjective?"

"Yeah."

"So you find the viewpoint that 'Subjectively, any manga can be a classic, and so it is meaningless to
call a manga bad' harmful?"

Kouchi-sempai nodded satisfactorily.

"Yup, that's what I meant."

"But–"

As I was about to respond, I noticed someone's hand moving. Before me, the pile of Zeamis copies
were being removed by President Yuasa, which I didn't mind.

There was a decisive flaw in Kouchi-sempai's argument, yet I wonder if she has noticed it already?
While feeling uneasy, I tried to maintain a calm voice and continued, "In that case, wouldn't it also be

harmful to think that 'Subjectively, any manga can be rubbish, and so it is meaningless to call a manga
good'?"

In that way, there was no way she could agree with that. But if she disagrees, then she would have to
rephrase her argument. Despite being confronted with such a contradiction, Kouchi-sempai gave a
profound smile and said, "Yeah."

"Wha–"

For a moment, I was lost for words. Even her followers murmured. It was as confusing as falling into
nothingness. No one could understand what she was thinking when she made such a response.

Taking advantage of my wavering, Kouchi-sempai spoke cheerfully.

"But it's true, isn't it? Since even you thought so.

"Just because a manga is called boring doesn't mean the manga itself is boring. It simply means the
person's tolerance antenna is set rather low for the title. So for those cowards who do not want to
express themselves clearly would say 'This manga doesn't suit me' rather than just call it boring.

"So it's the same thing. Just because a manga is called interesting doesn't mean the work itself is
interesting. It just means the person has a high tolerance for the interesting aspects of the title. Am I
right?"

For some time, I've always found Kouchi-sempai to be rather reckless. Even though she has a lot of
admirers as a core member of the Manga Club, I just found myself looking down on those people.
Right now, I feel like I know why I felt that way. Kouchi Ayako-sempai was just such a person.

I can't lose to her... I just can't lose.

At first, I was merely lashing out at her for calling the anthology we had worked so hard on
meaningless. But now it's become more than that, she was laughing at the basis of my beliefs itself. I
wasn't the type to just simply laugh it away and suck it up. The urge to fight back welled up within me,
I licked my lips and countered, "...So you're basically saying there are no mangas that are called
classics or masterpieces? Other mediums like music, art and novels all have what you call classics
and masterpieces. Are you saying that even those don't exist as well? Or are you saying this only
applies to manga?"

I, along with many Manga Club members, do not believe that as an expression medium, there would
exist flaws within mangas that cannot be rectified.

Not even Kouchi-sempai could say that just because a work is a manga, it cannot become a classic.

And indeed she said no such thing.

"I never said that there's no such thing as a classic or masterpiece manga."

"But isn't that what you were saying? That a work is rubbish no matter how you look at it?"

"Yeah, it is."

She withdrew her sneering smile and said, "But masterpieces do exist.

"After years of being scrutinized by critics and standing the test of time, only those works which
contain the highest common factor remain. These are what we'd call 'masterpieces.' If not highest
common factor, then the works which receive the most acceptance, which is basically the same thing.

"So I'll say this: it's just foolish for the Manga Club to do something like review manga, where we
just go about deciding if this work is great or that work is crap. We're just saying what comes out of
our heads. We should cut that out and just be content to enjoy what we read."

"Then,"

Before I could even think, I fired back, "Do you not recognize the existence of the geniuses that gave
birth to such masterpieces? Do you not recognize that the works of such people are wonderful and
deserve to be passed down the generations?"

"Don't be so long-winded, Ibara, of course I don't. That's why this is all part of your subjective
opinion. I've already said that masterpieces are those that withstand the test of time."

"..."

Kouchi-sempai's gaze was sharper than a while ago. I too was probably glaring back at her. I felt
myself breathing heavily.

I sensed that now was the time to pull out my trump card.

The treasures I have are something that would have to be shown to her if to repudiate her. If I didn't
repudiate her, then I would have to repudiate my treasures. Though I was reluctant to do this, I had no
choice. So I slowly said, "You're wrong."

"About what?"

"This has nothing to do with one's subjective opinion. You say such outrageous things only because
you've never gone through what I've felt. There's a person whose manga is so terrific that I've yet to
meet someone who doesn't think that way."

"Oh, now that's some boast you've got."

Kouchi-sempai spoke with a dark tone while dressed in her Jiangshi outfit. Without feeling daunted, I
continued, "Based on what you said, even the manga that I drew would be on the same level as every
other manga out there. But that is not true. What I'm saying is there's no way you could say that my
manga could line up alongside this person's manga. That work is something which could never be
eliminated over time.

"So tell me, sempai, have you read a manga called Ashes at Dusk, which was sold at the Cultural
Festival last year?"

When I noticed, Kouchi-sempai had lost her usual calm demeanor. With an expression as though she
was trying to strangle me, she replied briefly,

"...No,"

"In that case,"

If it doesn't work, then it can't be helped. If she does not recognize my treasure, then I'll just have to
raise the white flag.

"I'll bring it tomorrow. If after reading it you still feel the same, then I'll have nothing to say."

Phew I sighed. In order for the truth to be spoken, such an outcome was inevitable. As a result, I
sighed again, as this meant that I'd lost my chance to ask the Manga Club to help sell Hyouka.

It was then that I realized, and said, "What's going on here?"

The room was suddenly filled with people. A while ago there were only Manga Club members, and
now the room was full of customers. Huh? Why? When did they come in? Could it be that they've
been watching me argue all this time?

As I looked at the customers, they all avoided my gaze, and as though apologetic, began lining up to
buy copies of Zeamis. Each stack contained ten copies. Already I saw two stacks of Zeamis copies
being sold and President Yuasa bringing in a new stack to replace them.

Erm, I...

Taking a deep breath, I put on a smile and said, "Welcome."

The bystanders who were glancing at me quickly turned their backs around. Perhaps I had spoken in a
rough tone, and maybe they thought I was dangerous?

If this was a manga, then veins would have popped up in my forehead already.

021 - ♥05

Now Featuring:

The Battle of the Maidens!

in Manga Theory Debate

(The Jiangshi vs The Hermaphrodite)

...I wonder what this poster could be about? It was written in very huge and trendy letters.
As I happened to be passing by, I had decided to drop by the Manga Studies Club and pay Mayaka-
san a visit, but I ended up being distracted by this strange poster outside.
Is this Battle of the Maidens currently going on right now? As I was about to take a peek inside, a
female student emerged from the door. I recognized that person; it was the president of the Manga
Studies Club, Yuasa Naoko-san.
"Um, what is this?" I pointed to the poster and asked.
Yuasa-san gave a gentle smile as she proceeded to slowly tear the poster down, she then turned
toward a bewildered me and replied, "Oh, we're just finished with that. We'll be holding another at
1pm tomorrow, so please do come visit again. The Manga Studies Club wishes you a good day
today."
I see.
Umm.
...The Classics Club also wishes you a good day today.

022 - ♠06

The clock hand shows that it will be approaching five soon. The first day was coming to an end.
The Classics Club members who were scattered around the campus were now gathered back inside
the Geology Room. Though Chitanda and Satoshi had popped by many times during the day, this was
Ibara's first time showing her face back here since this morning.
As I had a lot of free time, I took the time to pack the extra copies of Hyouka into the boxes and kept
them hidden from view. As the person in charge of running the stall, it wouldn't look nice if the
customers were to see us struggling with our sales, after all.
"Well, what do you think? My sales appeal worked a bit, didn't it?" Satoshi asked.
As I'm not as optimistic as him, I replied indifferently, "Sort of."
"Eh, really?"

I nodded. Truth be told, as soon as Satoshi made his speech, a few customers did appear. As a sales
pitch, it sounded kinda stupid. I don't know what kind of fun he had in that competition, but his effort
sure helped give our sales a little push.

Satoshi made a victory pose.

"All right! We shall do our best tomorrow as well. We'll be participating in The Cooking Club's
cooking tournament tomorrow morning."

Ibara asked nonchalantly to his merry expression, "The one where you need three people to form a
team?"

"Huh?"

Satoshi's smile stiffened.

"Three people? Really?" He said as he frantically took out the pamphlet. It's no good for someone
from the General Committee to be unaware of what the events are about, after all.

Meanwhile, Chitanda looked kind of depressed.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't do my best..."

"Don't worry too much about it."

To be honest, I hadn't expected much from her. Rather than having no expectation from her abilities, it
was more to do with having no expectation that we would receive special permission to make
changes to an event that had already been decided. As she looked down toward the ground, she
seemed to have thought of something and looked up.

"Oh, but, I did come across something curious though."

Something, curious?

I felt myself shuddering at the mention of that word. Whenever this lady utters "I'm really curious
about it," it means that things cannot go back to the way they were. For someone with such a burning
sense of curiosity, it is impossible not to satiate Chitanda in her search for the answers.

Every time she says "I'm really curious about it," she has given me... I mean, us, quite a lot of
commotion... These memories began flashing in my head.

However, this was simply not the time of the day for her to do that. Once she got things started, it
would be impossible to suppress her curiosity, but this did not mean that Chitanda would allow
herself to run around in a rampage. She's not the sort to brashly go about in search of the answers
under the banner of curiosity. Similarly, if there were other things that needed to be done, she would
not prioritize her curiosity over those.

As though realizing how dangerous she could become, she turned her gaze towards the box containing
the Hyouka copies.

"...Oh, nothing. It's not really curious," she said.

That was a relief.

Finally, there was Ibara, who seemed quite sullen. Though she's usually like that, even though she
wouldn't admit it herself, she always seemed like she wanted to say what was on her mind, but then
gave up doing so. Though she did not make any sound, her lips were moving as though muttering to
herself. I couldn't help but notice that.

"Ibara, did something happen at the Manga Club?"

I decided to ask.

"Nothing."

She snapped back looking annoyed. Did I say something wrong? She didn't look rather angry as her
face wasn't red.

"So, Houtarou, how many copies did we sell?"

Upon being asked, I leaned back in my chair and said, "Thirteen."

This was the best answer I could come up with. Had we printed twenty-four copies as we had
intended, such a figure would have been impressive for a first day sale. At any rate, the real battle
begins on the third day, Saturday.

Though I did not mention that, as I did not want to suffer from Ibara's sarcasm, and Satoshi would
have given a buoyant face and go "Really?"

Two days left... It's not like we were trying to shore up all the support we could get. As if we could
expect something explosive to happen anyway. Now was not the time for us to expect miracles.

As the chime rang, the first day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival came to an end.

[177 COPIES REMAINING]

3-1 The Morning Landscape

023 - ♦05

Ashes at Dusk was a 30-page manga containing three short stories. Despite its morbid-sounding title,
it actually came from Rennyo's[1] well-known verse: "We may have radiant faces in the morning, but
by evening we may turn into white ashes."[2]

The overarching theme across these short stories is its emphasis on the abstract impermanence of life.
Taking place in a classically dim Showa-style backdrop, the story describes a rather sad story. That
said, the manga doesn't indulge itself in the retro-feel, but actually focuses on the platonic love of high
school girls as well, so it was also rich in entertainment.

As a Third Year Junior High student, I was lost for words when I saw and bought this on a whim
while visiting the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival. Though there was nothing special about
the theme, it just felt earnestly vivid to me.

A unique story that develops alongside its rich dialogue, it is supported by sensitive-looking artwork,
which looked like something right out of a kabuki theatre. In certain pivotal points of the plot, the art
would give a surreal effect. If I have to list a work, regardless of whether it is commercial or not, that
leaves an impression on me, then it has to be Ashes at Dusk.

And thus, this was a manga that possesses a certain charm which words alone cannot describe. If I
had to give criticism, then I would say the background art looked a bit amateurish, but even that is not
enough to make it bad.

There were only two doujinshis that have taken my breath away completely, one was Ashes at Dusk,
the other was Body Talk, a title I found in another doujinshi event unrelated to Kami High. I cherish
these two works as my treasures. But if I have to pick one out of these two, I would have to go for
Ashes at Dusk.

In order to counter Kouchi-sempai's argument that a work can be great to begin with, regardless of
what the readers think, I would have to show her a glimpse of this title. Such was my faith in its
ability to charm.

I was very glad when I found out I made it into Kamiyama High School. Besides being glad that I've
entered high school, I was even more glad that I had entered a school where you could sell any sort of
manga freely as though its a soft drink vending machine. That's why I entered the Manga Studies Club
as soon as I started school.

Yet I found myself a bit disappointed afterwards.

There was no one in the club that knew anything about the author of Ashes at Dusk.

But as I still had fun with people discussing stuff that we like, I thought that my decision to join the
Manga Club was correct.

...That's what I thought anyway.

On the morning of the second day of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, I arrived at school
with a gloomy expression. I had no choice but to postpone what I intended to do. Prior to going to the
attendance ceremony, I first headed towards the Manga Club.

I had intended to arrive early, but I found Kouchi-sempai had arrived even earlier. She was dressed
in a classy tuxedo today. She's probably dressed as that Thai boxer. As she isn't particularly tall,
yesterday's costume didn't really suit her. Was she trying to dress up as a different game character
everyday, or does she simply want to cosplay in varying costumes? While I too am cosplaying as a
different character than yesterday, I hadn't devoted as much time and money to my costume as she had
to hers.

Kouchi-sempai looked towards me, or rather, the heart-shaped brooch on my chest.

"Going for old-fashioned again, I see?" she said. Today I wore a cardigan over my blouse, and high
socks coupled with a flared skirt. The only part that one could really call cosplay was the brooch and
the beret hat I was wearing.

"Are you gonna shoot out Jintan[3] candies from that?"

"No, this is just for show."

"If you're going to cosplay as that character, you should at least put some effort into your hair."

Don't be ridiculous. It's already quite embarrassing for me to have such a gravity-defying hairdo, not
to mention my hair isn't that long.

I need to get to the main topic right away.

"So, where's your Ashes at Dusk?"

It was Kouchi-sempai who started the conversation instead. I was surprised that she could remember
the name of a title which she only heard once. I always thought her to be quite a quick-witted person,
so it's not like she could really read my mind or anything.

As most of the members had not yet arrived, the Manga Club room was rather quiet. Everyone,
including those members who weren't here yesterday, had known of my spat with Kouchi-sempai.

Even Kouchi-sempai, who had looked rather confident yesterday, now looked at me with a tense
expression without even realizing it.

T-this is bad.

But I can't just run away now. Taking a deep breath filling my lungs as much as they could be, and
while doing my best not to look abject, I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring it today."

"What?"

"I must have taken it to my relatives' house by mistake during the summer holidays."

Yes, for the whole night and until early this morning, I was searching for my copy of Ashes at Dusk in
my room.

I made sure to search everywhere I could think of. I looked about ten times or more within the
bookshelves which contained my favourite books. I did the same for the other bookshelves, as well as
opening up the boxes which contained my old mangas.

Yet I could not find my Ashes at Dusk anywhere. I do not remember lending it to anyone. It was not a
book I would show Fuku-chan. And I was reading it repeatedly during the first semester...

So instead I brought Body Talk as a replacement. But I had already decided to bring Ashes at Dusk
the day before, so this felt like a cop out. Bringing a book that could not satisfy my intention was just
as good as not bringing it at all.

Yet I did not feel like I'd lost the book. As I remembered organizing my books during the summer
holiday, and placing the old books in boxes to be sent to the storage warehouse in my grandparent's
house. It must have been mixed up during that time. I'd probably find it if I looked there.

However, such a causal mix-up should not have happened, and I became slightly embarrassed
because of it, as lately I've been making too many silly mistakes. Even if I reflect on them the deed
has already been done. I wish I had not made such mistakes to begin with.

"Ehh??" A short disapproving sound was uttered. Looking around, I saw only President Yuasa with
her calm expression; this meant it wasn't her. It must have been someone else.

"Hmm, so you don't have it."

Kouchi-sempai's expression eased. I, in contrast, bit my lips.

I felt like a carp on a chopping board right now. Victory has not yet been decided as we may still
have arguments to put forward, but having said I would present evidence to support my argument, it
couldn't be helped now that I did not bring it. Hearing Kouchi-sempai's followers snickering just gets
on my nerves.

One of them said, "Ibara, weren't you talking big yesterday? And you think you can get away by saying

you don't have it?"

Another followed, "That's right. Don't you have other ways of apologizing?"

They probably won't be satisfied unless I go down on my knees. I decided to ignore them, as this was
a problem between me and Kouchi-sempai alone. If she were to ask me to go down on my knees, I'd
gladly do so.

However, Kouchi-sempai, as though losing interest in me, simply waved her hands and said briefly,
"Then, help me with drawing a poster."

"P-poster?"

"Draw a moe character... I'm going out for a bit now."

She said that and turned to leave the club room.

As I was being basked in the cold stares of her followers, who had been left behind, I turned to speak
with President Yuasa.

"President, do you have tools for drawing a poster?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, we do."

I nodded and looked at my watch. It's almost time to head to the Gymnasium. I pointed to my watch
and said, "I'll start drawing once I come back."

If I'm going to draw something, it's better if I put my full effort into it rather than stop midway. I
wonder what I should draw for this "moe character" order from the victor?

024 - ♣08

After attendance was taken, I quickly left the gymnasium.

It wasn't because there was something I wanted to see, since I am after all a member of the General
Committee, which has the duty of ensuring the smooth running of the Cultural Festival. At the
appointed time, I needed to attend the meeting in the Conference Room where the General Committee
is based, in order to carry out any orders decided by the Committee executives. Besides security,
there's also event organizing to take care of. Particularly the setting up and taking down of event
equipment by the various clubs requires a lot of labour. By the way, if there's no work to be done one
gets to be free for the day. Carrying a noble sense of duty within me, I knocked at the door of the
Conference Room.

"Fukube reporting. I see I haven't got any work today, I guess I'll take my leave now."

A pity that I wasn't able to help out with the General Committee in the Kamiyama High School
Cultural Festival. Just as I was about to check out some strange event about to start at the Sci-Fi
Studies Club, someone stopped me.

"Wait Fukube, you do have work."

Eh~.

President Tanabe was the only person inside, with a white board behind him covered by a timetable.
Before long he turned to me and smiled bitterly.

"Hey, what's with the disappointed look you got there?"

"No, actually, this is me looking grateful that I get to contribute my efforts."

Actually, I had plans to be at The Cooking Club at 11:30 today, so I was only intending to work with
the General Committee around those times that were convenient to me. Though I made a playful face, I
wasn't exactly unhappy. Opening the door, I entered the room.

I rubbed my hands and asked, "Well, what is it? As long as it ends before 11:30, I'll jump into an
inferno or leap into the ocean for you."

"It'll be over soon. There are bags containing visitor slippers in the staff room, you'll need to bring
two of these bags to every building entrance. That's about it."

Indeed, this wouldn't take up a lot of time.

President Tanabe sure worked hard in making the pamphlet. Casually, I began to converse with him.

"Sempai, won't you go sightseeing during the festival?"

"Hmm? Oh."

Facing the whiteboard with its timetable, he turned to me and spoke gently.

"There's a lot of menial stuff to take care of. Still, it requires me to move around the campus, so it's
not like I don't get to see anything. Oh yeah, the movie shown by Class 2-F is pretty good, I hear."

Oh, this was quite some good news for us.

"But you're unable to join in any events yourself, aren't you?"

Tanabe-sempai smiled bitterly.

"I won't be able to attend to the General Committee if I do. Unlike you, it's not like I'm as talented or
have many interests."

Do I look that talented or have many interests to other observers?

"Well, what is it? You got something interesting to tell me?"

"Interesting, huh?"

Thinking about it, there is the issue of the Classics Club having 200 anthology copies, but Mayaka
wouldn't be happy if I used that as a joke. The Rakugo Club performance at the Opening Ceremony
was pretty interesting, but that's just my personal opinion. I've also heard of other stuff, but they aren't
really that interesting when mentioned one by one.

Hmm. I didn't particularly find this intriguing, but if I had told him there was nothing interesting, the
conversation would be too dull. So how about this one?

"We seem to have a phantom thief appearing at the Go Club."

"Oh?"

"Some Go stones were stolen from the container, and the thief even left a message behind."

"Really?"

Now this was surprising. This actually piqued President Tanabe's interest.

"I see. The Go Club, huh?"

Just as I wass about to say that this could be some prank staged by the Go Club themselves, President
Tanabe continued, "I heard from Okano that something similar has happened to the A Capella Club."

"What?"

This time it was my turn to have my interest piqued. Something similar happening to the A Capella
Club means that the possibility of this being an inside job by the Go Club has been ruled out.

"They seem to have had one drink bottle taken from the cooler box."

"Was there a message left behind?"

"I'm not sure if it's from the culprit, but they found a strange memo inside."

Now this looks pretty interesting. At the very least, my interest has now increased beyond the level
when I first heard this from Tani-kun. We have a phantom thief lurking in the Kamiyama High School
Cultural Festival! This is actually quite a fun prank.

Hmm hmm, now how should I plan my schedule from here on.

...No wait, now's not the time for that yet.

"What's wrong, Fukube? You're grinning."

"Nope, no~thing really."

It's still too early to indulge in this yet. In order for a phantom thief incident to be established, the
phantom thief would need to continue with his prank. If I end up scaring the thief prematurely, it'll just
make me look foolish. My experience tells me that it is better to first play with the thief.

Furthermore, not many within the school are aware of this yet. Even I have only just heard about this.
I wasn't really concerned with whether the thief intends to attract much interest or not, but right now,
his flute is only vaguely audible.

Since I still had an event to attend, it wouldn't be too late even if I take some rest now and allow the
thief to surprise me even further. So it was better for me to leave this aside for now.

All right, now where's my drawstring bag?

"I guess I'll get to work then."

"Sure, good luck."

Having encouraged me, President Tanabe turned back towards the timetable board.

025 - ♠07

"I'll do my best again today!" Upon saying that, Chitanda left the room.

Now to begin watching over the stall for the day again.

How should I say this? I never thought being in charge of a stall where people hardly ever come
would be this boring. I liked being idle and carefree, but certainly not being bored. At any rate, one
doesn't require a lot of effort to insert the small change into the coin box repeatedly. Even if I were to
take time to go to the bathroom, no one would come. Still, while I had brought a paperback novel to
kill time, it was not the right book. It is quite unbecoming for an energy saver like me to actually
desire some action just because I'm feeling bored.

Anyway, I should line up the Hyouka copies. Ten copies per stack should be just about right.

As I finished lining them up, a customer arrived. It was a male student I didn't know. The badge on his
collar indicated he was a second year.

"You selling?"

Now this is quite a good omen. I'd better use my manners.

"Yeah, we are."
Hmm, maybe I should have said it longer, like "Yeah, we are, man." But that doesn't sound polite,
does it? The second year sort of dangled towards the pile of Hyouka and looked at the cover.
"So this is the one that explains where Kanya Festival gets its name from?"
Wow, seems like Satoshi's microphone appeal was still having some influence. Or did he hear it from
someone else? At any rate, I should be thankful.
As I nodded, the second year asked, "Can I stand and read?"
"I'm afraid you can't."
"Oh come on. It's only 200 yen, isn't it?"
"It may be only 200 yen, but please do buy one. We've got so many remaining, I feel like crying."
Not that I really would.
The second year laughed and took out his wallet and bought one copy. Upon thanking him and seeing
him place his wallet back in his pocket, I noticed, "Sempai, your fly's open."
"What?! No way!"
He frantically placed his hand between his legs. Upon inspection, he lifted his head and groaned,
"Argh, can't be helped. It's broken!"
Looking closely, I saw black silk dangling from the opening. I see, now I get what he's saying,
"Your zipper's broken?"
"Yeah, and I've still got a whole day before I can even take time to fix this."
You have my sympathies. There's nothing I can do.
No wait, that's not true. I still have it with me, haven't I? Looking in the table drawer, I found it. It was
the badge that I obtained earlier today. While I'm not interested in attending a fashion show, the badge
does have a safety pin taped behind it, which was easily removed.
"There's only one, but try using this."
I handed the pin out to him. The second year looked grateful as though being blessed by the heavens.
"Whoa, thanks man. Amazing that you actually have one with you."
He proceeded to pin the hole shut... While it looked kind of strange, it should do for now.

The second year certainly looked glad as he muttered, "You're amazing, man, you just helped out big
time."

"If you want to show your gratitude then you could buy another copy."

The second year smiled and waved his hand.

"No thanks,"

Though he seemed to have thought of something, and put his hand behind his trousers. Searching his
back pocket, he took out a hand gun.

Staring into the muzzle, I asked, "Is this a robbery?"

"Don't be silly. It's a water gun."

The second year placed the gun on the table.

"You can have this as my thanks."

"I see."

I looked at the water gun and then towards him.

"...Is this your hobby?"

Rolling up the Hyouka copy in his hand, he whacked my head with it.

"Course not. I'm with the Gardening Club. We're roasting sweet potatoes today."

I still didn't see what this had to do with anything.

The second year continued while looking pleased, "You see, we need fire in order to roast the
potatoes. And if there's fire, we'll need some water to put it out. But it would be too boring to just use
a bucket, right?"

Ahh, I see. So he's supposed to be a soldier or something... So there are clubs who actually do silly
stuff. I looked at the hand gun.

"Don't you need this then?"

"I already have one. This is just a side-arm. My main one's a Kalashnikov."

Fabulous. So they're actually thinking of putting out a fire using a water gun? They should instead be
more careful with handling the fire.

Anyway, what use do I have for a water gun for watching over the Classics Club stall? The same goes
for the badge, I seemed to be receiving all sorts of useless stuff. Though I have no reason to refuse

him.
"Thanks, man. See ya!"
The second year left the Geology Room looking elated.
I looked at the hand gun he left behind and merely muttered, "...A Glock 17?"
Having an AK as a main weapon and a Glock as a side-arm. Isn't this rather inconsistent?

[176 COPIES REMAINING]

026 - ♥06

I'll do my best again today!
I was thinking a lot last night. What Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san said were both correct. I haven't
managed to expand our selling spots, nor have I managed to get the Wall Newspaper Club interested
in us. However, it is still too early to give up and say nothing could be done.
I heard rumours that the movie made by Class 2-F was quite popular. A few of my friends had wanted
to go and watch, but it seems for the entire first day the Audio Visual Room was packed during airing.
We the Classics Club were slightly involved in the making of that movie by Class 2-F. Upon solving
the trouble encountered during the shooting of the movie, Fukube-san duly named it the "Empress
Incident." I didn't exactly do much, though Oreki-san's advice seems to have helped them a lot. Thus
for me personally, it was a joyous thing to hear that the movie was doing well.
I was acquainted with one of the students from Class 2-F, Irisu Fuyumi-san. Speaking of which, this
"Empress Incident" also applies to her as well, since she was involved in overseeing the production
of the movie.
If we could arrange for Hyouka to be sold alongside a popular movie, there's a chance our sales
might increase.
Thus today, I embark on ensuring such a deal could be done.
I'll do my best.

The Audio Visual Room was currently airing the movie The Blind Spot of 10,000 People. The

entrance to the room was left open, with a black curtain to block outside light from coming in. Looks
like its another full house today, but I have no way of knowing as I could not peek into the dark room.
Outside was a signboard as tall as myself which read "Now Showing - The Blind Spot of 10,000
People," with its airing times written on a paper taped below it.

There was a table beside the board which seemed to double as a reception counter. Though it's called
a reception counter, as the movie is free, it's not going to collect any admission fee. Rather, they seem
to be selling pamphlets for the movie. A girl was assigned to watch the counter, but as nobody seems
to be coming while the movie was being shown, she's currently talking to someone else.

That someone else was none other than Irisu-san. It must be my lucky day, as I was prepared to look
all over the campus for her. Upon waiting for them to finish their conversation, I spoke up.

"Good morning, Irisu-san,"

"Hmm? Oh, it's Chitanda."

Noticing my presence, she quickly ended her conversation with the counter girl. Walking some
distance from the Audio Visual Room entrance, she beckoned me to come over beside the fire
emergency exit.

Irisu Fuyumi-san is the daughter of the warden of Rengou Hospital, located right next to Kamiyama
High School. She is just as tall as I am, though her figure is much more slender. Just to be safe, this
doesn't mean I'm meaty compared to her. Her fine feature gives an impression of one who is very
sharp, a resolute person who could solve any problem encountered. She was someone I admire
somewhat.

Before I could say anything, Irisu-san pointed towards the Audio Visual Room.

"Thanks to you guys, our movie was a great success, as you can see. And to think we were in danger
of not being able to complete the movie on time. You have my deep gratitude."

"Oh, no, there's no need to... Is Hongou-san all right?"

Hongou-san was originally the screenwriter for the movie, but I heard she collapsed due to stress.

"Oh, she's fine now. Would you like to see her?"

"I see... Oh no, not now."

Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Irisu-san lowered her voice.

"Do you need something from me?"

"Yes, rather than you, I have a request for Class 2-F."

I nodded deeply.

I'll need to get to the main point right away.
"Please help the Classics Club sell their anthology."
Irisu-san blinked her eyes twice, before quickly saying, "So you're asking us to sell your anthology
where we're showing our movie, right?"
"Yes, that's the idea."
"All right. How many copies do you have?"
Eh?
"Y-you're accepting our request?"
As I replied without thinking, Irisu-san raised her brow.
"Why do you look surprised?"
"Oh, no, umm..."
As I was used to being flatly refused right away yesterday, I was at a loss hearing that my request was
granted so suddenly now... Besides, I've once again forgotten to explain the details.
"...Thank you so much!"
"You can thank me once we've sold the copies. So how many copies you have?"
Irisu-san placed her right hand on her hip and asked as though she might tear the wall down anytime.
"We've printed 200 copies..."
"200?!"
Irisu-san's small eyes widened for an instant.
"That's a lot."
"We ordered more copies than we were supposed to by mistake. That's why, we're hoping to sell as
many as possible. I-I..."
Oh no. Just when I thought I had obtained Irisu-san's help, I became lost for words. I'm still in a
conversation, so I gritted my teeth and went on, "I'm sorry. As for the price, we've set it at 200 yen
per copy."
Irisu-san nodded gently.
"If you're willing to lower the price to 150 yen per copy, then I can take twenty copies from you."

"Eh? Lower the price?"

"Our pamphlet costs 50 yen each. Together with your anthology, that would make 200 yen per set.
Though we'll need to make a few arrangements."

"Umm, but, don't you need to consult with the others from Class 2-F...?"

"Oh, I'll take care of that afterwards."

Incredible. If it's Irisu-san, she would accept any request with no questions asked. Besides, wouldn't
it be bothersome for her to receive twenty copies from us? Since we had only intended to sell twenty-
four copies over three days.

As though she could read the anxiety on my face, Irisu-san added nonchalantly, "We should be able to
sell them all by today. If we do, we may be able to order another batch from you."

"Is that fine with you?"

"It's fine."

...I felt my chest becoming tight again.

Irisu-san stretched out her right hand which she had rested on her hip. Was she trying to shake my
hand? Taking out my hand, I placed it on top of hers.

"?"

"Rather than shake my hand, you should be showing me a sample copy instead."

A sample? I shook my head. Irisu-san gave a small sigh. Did I mess things up? She then softly spoke
while I remained startled.

"...It's all right since it's me, but if you're really going to ask someone to sell your anthology for you,
you should at least bring a sample with you. Or you won't be able to convince anyone."

I-I see. So that's how one gets things done.

"I understand. Thank you so much!"

It was then that I began thinking. Yesterday I hardly achieved anything. Maybe I spent so much time
worrying about what to do next that my request would still get turned down. I've spent a lot of effort
explaining my situation to both Tanabe-san and Toogaito-san, but if I had asked Irisu-san to come
with me back then, I might not have had my requests turned down.

Yes, I must not make the same mistakes as yesterday. I must ensure my success rate is improved from
now on.

Having made my mind, I decided to make another request to Irisu-san.

"Irisu-san,"

"W-what is it?"

Oh no, I ended up approaching too near to her. This was a bad habit which Oreki-san has often told
me to be careful of. I took one step back.

"Irisu-san, you're good at having other people carry out your requests, right?"

"..."

"Please teach me how you do it!"

"WHA–!?"

Irisu-san made a flustered, out-of-character yelp, though her ruffled state only lasted for a moment
before she began chuckling.

"...Heh, I've been called a lot of things, but never 'good at having other people carry out requests'
before," she muttered.

Leaning against the emergency exit, Irisu-san gazed at me and spoke slowly.

"Right. You do tend to be too direct in your approaches sometimes. I'll teach you two or three
methods which you can remember."

"T-thank you."

"What do you know about role-playing?"

Irisu-san lowered her head and closed her eyes and began thinking. This was the first time I'd ever
seen her taking time to think. My body went stiff from the anxiety,

"...Right... Well, let's put it this way," she muttered and opened her eyes. She then raised her clenched
fist towards me. I instinctively leaned backwards as a result.

"There are two ways to get people to carry out your requests. First, there is one in which you're
expected to repay the favour received."

She lifted her index finger.

"The second is where you do not repay any favour."

She then lifted her middle finger. Before long, she withdrew both fingers and placed her hand back on
her hip.

"For requests where you're to repay the favour, it means the person you're asking does not trust you."

"Eh?"

Maybe it had something to do with her calm way of speaking, but Irisu-san's serene voice seemed to
have blocked out the noise generated by the Cultural Festival around us.

"For situations where you're dealing with strangers which you would not deal with again after you
receive the favour, in nine out of ten cases, they would consider your request a rip-off. Even if they
don't, they would try to minimize the effort they would put into handling your request. So in cases
where you're expected to repay the favour, you mustn't just think about what you would expect them to
do, but also take into consideration the time they have and the effort they're willing to make. You must
also take into consideration that they may not be able to do what you request of them. If you're
unwilling to do that, then they too will not be willing to take such a risk for your request.

"While you could use reverse psychology to make them think they're ripping you off instead, that
would be too difficult for you. So for the moment being, you're more suited to the second type, where
trust would be needed.

"In such a situation, you would need to provide them with mental satisfaction in order to carry out
your request. It is easy to cut corners when only a physical reward is available, but not so for a
mental reward. The best way to achieve that is to make them feel they're charismatic or popular, but
you will find you would not have much opportunity to use those. The next would be faith and love, but
these would require a lot of time to prepare beforehand. By the way, I myself have never relied on
these two.

"If possible, you should take advantage of their sense of justice or duty, their professional spirit or
their self-esteem, but its difficulty is above intermediate. Though once you get the hang of those, you
should be able to apply them to many situations.

"On the other end of the spectrum would be to make them think they're feared or superior to you, but
we'll not go into that today.

"For you, as a beginner, you should aim to have expectations of them.

"Listen up, it's basically to make them think that 'Only they could accomplish this request of yours.' To
make them think they're your only hope, which is pretty easy to do. It would not be rare for them to
even make some sacrifices for you, since you have expectations of them, even if you're just pretending
to.

"In addition, do not make them think the problem is huge. Don't let them know that you're desperate
for their help. There just aren't many people who would help others solve a major problem with no
benefit to themselves. Instead, you should make it look like the problem is very trivial, that way it'll
make them feel exceptional.

"Finally, if possible, make the request where no one else is around to someone of the opposite

gender."
For a moment, my head went blurry.
I-I just heard something really amazing. I never even thought about these things before. In order to
have a stranger do one's request, one must make them feel loved and trusted, as well as feel superior
because you have expectations of them, alone in a place where nobody can see... It's going to be
difficult for me to digest all of this at once.
I would need time to slowly understand all of this. At any rate, I would need to thank Irisu-san.
"Um, umm, I..."
Yet Irisu-san merely said, "Hurry up and bring the copies over."
And hurriedly returned to the Audio Visual Room.
I should at least bow deeply in gratitude to her.
Thank you very much! Irisu-san, I will not let your advice go to waste!

027 - ♠08

The paperback novel I brought turned out to be quite a bore.
Though I hadn't exactly wasted my money as I bought it for only 100 yen from a new second-hand
bookstore, I still felt like i had been ripped off by them. I just couldn't force myself to continue
reading on. Having said that, there's was nothing I could do but yawn. I should have brought a backup
novel.
Hearing the A Capella Club singing yesterday sure was a good way to kill time. Wondering if they'd
be singing again, I decided to stand up and open the windows... And I smelled a scent of burning
leaves, as right below me were some people surrounding a stove. As there seemed to be some sort of
armed sentries in that group, that must be the Gardening Club.
Sweet potatoes - just smelling their scent makes one feel famished. Whether its sweet potatoes or not,
at the moment I felt like eating anything, since I overslept this morning and decided to skip breakfast.
This was really my sis's fault for taking my alarm clock from my room without permission. As a
result, I'm feeling a bit hungry. As it was only eleven, it was still too early for lunch.

As I continued to stare at the stove...

"Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

Someone intruded while shouting in strange voices. They sounded like girls, but I have no idea who
they are if I can't see their faces. Or rather, there was no way I could see their faces. There were two
intruders, both carrying baskets covered in white cloth and wearing pumpkin masks over their heads...
Pumpkins?

W-what on earth? Pumpkin Heads? Halloween costumes already?

As I continued to look bewildered, "Trick or Treat!"

"Yay!"

They made the same greeting again while flailing their arms.

Were they trying to dance?

...I needed to calm down. All right, so they're in a Halloween mood. Does that mean I should throw
beans at them? Or I should pour sweet tea at them?[4]

No, wait, I remember now. I looked coldly at the dancing pumpkin heads and said, "If it's candy you
want, I haven't got any, so get lost."

One of the pumpkin heads gasped.

"Yikes! How mean!"

"But you are welcome to buy our anthologies."

"Not interested!"

"Who the hell are you guys anyway!?"

It was then the two pumpkin heads walked forward in synchrony and showed me their baskets. As
though trained for this, they both spoke at the same time.

"We're doing door-to-door sales for the Confectioneries Studies Club. Would you like some cookies,
biscuits and cream puffs?"

...

"What if I said no?"

"...Trick or Treat!"
"Yay!"
OK, I get it. I get it already, so stop dancing, you pushy saleswomen.
But this could be great timing,
"How much is one of your biscuits?"
"Heh heh, it's 100 yen per bag, master!"
They really don't have much consistency with their sales pitches. I took out one copy of Hyouka.
"...What's that?"
Whoa, they reverted to their normal voices.
"It's an anthology by the Classics Club. 200 yen per copy. I can swap two bags of your biscuits with
this."
"Not interested."
"Oh, don't say that, I want your biscuits, after all."
"That'll upset the balance between supply and demand~"
It's useless. I decided to take out my wallet.
"Wow! What's that? It's so cool!"
One of the pumpkin heads, who was looking around the room, suddenly raised her voice. In her hand
was the Glock 17 pistol.
"Wow, cool! How come you have one of these? Could you be a collector?"
"Hey, you think it would be better for our sales if we carry this around?"
Really? I think you'd scare everybody instead.
Oh well, if they wanted it, "I'll give you that semi-auto along with the anthology for two bags of your
biscuits."
"Really? You're giving it to us?"
I nodded. Holding the Glock in her hand, she began dancing again. After spinning one turn, she took
out two bags of biscuits from her basket as well as a small yellow paper bag.

"Here's a sign of gratitude from the pumpkins."

"What's that?"

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

Without answering my question, the two pumpkin heads took the glock and a copy of Hyouka and left.
Those heads look rather large, will they be able to stand properly in those... Just hope they don't trip.

Opening the paper bag, I looked inside.

It's wheat flour. Looking at the description, it says "weak flour."

Once again I've obtained something I have no use for.

From a fountain pen to a badge, from a badge to a Glock, and now from a Glock to a bag of flour.
This somehow feels like the story of the straw millionaire[5], yet somehow, the items I'm receiving
don't seem to be rising in value. Come to think of it, weren't these people giving me these items
simply because they have no use for them themselves?

Taking out 200 yen from my wallet, I placed them into the candy box which doubled as a register.
Leaning back towards the windowside, I opened one of the bags of biscuits.

[171 COPIES REMAINING]

028 - ♣09

It's just past eleven. The Cooking Club's tournament will take place at half-past eleven.

This may sound like me bragging, but I do have some confidence when it comes to cooking. Though I
have not taken into calculation about having three people as a team. I would have enjoyed it better if I
could do this all on my own, but as we're not allowed to participate alone, I guess it can't be helped.
Still, it's not as if I wouldn't enjoy myself, so I've invited Mayaka and Chitanda-san along as well.
While it's also interesting to see Houtarou carry a knife, he probably wouldn't come even if I invited
him.

Except... On one hand, Mayaka can really cook. I knew that, as she would occasionally bring her own
boxed lunch. Though I don't know about Chitanda-san, so she's an unknown factor. When I told her
about it, she readily agreed, "Understood. It's to promote our anthology, right?"

That was one of my concerns. Actually, I had two concerns. By the way, should they be called

"concerns?" Wouldn't it be better if I describe them as "worries?" Hmm, I must do some research
regarding the meanings of these words. Anyway, my other concern was whether Mayaka would make
it on time after finishing her duties with the Manga Club.

Deciding to pay her a visit, I headed towards Preparation Room No. 1.

Whoa, there's quite a lot of people here. And Mayaka was saying how the Manga Club was quiet
yesterday. It's basically packed today, it's like a carnival here. As I thought that, I noticed a poster
pasted on the door:

Speed Poster Drawing

Featuring two of our best artists! (The Esper vs The Panther)
Watch how their artistic senses shine at unwavering speed!

...I had never heard of such an event before.

I decided to take a peek.

"...Whoa."

I let out a gasp.

Mayaka, dressed in a cardigan over her blouse and wearing a beret cap, was scribbling her pen
across an A3 paper without even moving her eyes away. This was Mayaka in serious mode. I could
even hear the pen being tapped on the paper as she drew. I could even see her cheeks reddening as
though blood was rushing to her head. I had no idea what she was drawing as I couldn't see it from
here.

Next to her, the girl in a tuxedo was just as amazing. Just when I thought there were still a lot of white
areas in her drawing, as though receiving some divine inspiration, she began to boldly colour the
drawing already.

Again, I had no idea what she was colouring, but within five minutes...

"Done!"

She handed her drawing to the girls waiting before her. At once, many people gathered and placed the
drawing on a table for it to dry. It was then I saw what it was, a drawing of a female character from a
popular monthly manga series. That is good. That's Mayaka's drawing, no doubt. So Mayaka does the
drawing while the tuxedo girl does the colouring.

Two of the Manga Studies Club's best artists, huh? I see.

I chuckled and turned back.

If Mayaka ended up not attending the cooking tournament and it resulted in us losing by default as a
result of this, I wouldn't have complained.

Translator's notes and references

1. ↑ Wikipedia - Rennyo
2. ↑ Read the Source Online
3. ↑ Wikipedia - Jintan
4. ↑ Oreki is confusing the customs of Halloween and the Japanese holiday Setsubun -

Wikipedia
5. ↑ Wikipedia - Straw Millionaire

3-2 Wild Fire

029 - ♥07

As my long hair was in the way, I had it tied at the back of my head.

I had always wondered why The Cooking Club has a "The" as a part of its name.

That question was instantly answered by its president.

"Something unfortunate happened with the old Cooking Club, leading to its disbandment. So we re-
registered under this new name instead."

They seem like they've been through a lot.

Having been invited by Fukube-san, I was now participating in The Cooking Club's tournament "Wild
Fire." While it has a strange name for a tournament, upon participating, one would quickly understand
why such a name was used. The Wild Fire tournament does not take place in the Home Economics
Room, but outside on the track field.

The tables forming the makeshift kitchen counters were quite narrow, and use of water was to be
limited. Cooking fire was provided by two-legged stoves on each counter... It is certainly strange in
appearance, but on the other hand, it also meant any observer would instantly know what it was.

Besides, as this tournament involves teams of three people...

"Mayaka-san sure is late."

The deadline for accepting entries has finished, and there's only three minutes till 11:30, when the
tournament would officially commence. Yet Fukube-san was surprisingly calm.

"Each team member has twenty minutes, so we'll just put Mayaka last. If she still doesn't come in 40
minutes, then guess that's too bad. We're only here to promote ourselves anyway, so it doesn't matter
whether we win or not."

While he's quite right, I still continued to glance towards the field entrance.

A male student's voice spoke from behind us.

"Doesn't matter whether you win or not? That's hardly fun at all, Fukube!"

Could he be a friend of Fukube-san? I've not seen him before.

Though Fukube-san was usually energetic, perhaps even he was getting exhausted from being so
active during the tournament, because he sounded quite indifferent when replying to his friend.

"Nah, we'll be giving our all."

Though his friend did not seem to mind a bit and smiled.

"At any rate, this rule of having three people on a team is great! Even if my cooking isn't up to snuff,
I'll still be well covered by the other two teammates. Still, no one person can win it alone, so you
gotta plan ahead accordingly."

"Isn't that the same for all team tournaments?"

"Anyway, have you found yourself some good teammates? Just so you know, Team B has got Suhara,
who's the son of the chef of Miraku on Main Street."

"Ah, so I've heard."

"And I'm on that team."

Fukube-san gave an ambiguous smile.

"Wow, that's great. May the best team win then."

Just as I thought, something does feel strange. The Fukube-san that I know would have been more
sociable. Still, his friend remained in good spirits and returned to his team. I gently called out to
Fukube-san.

"Fukube-san... are you feeling all right?"

The person who turned around was the usual Fukube-san,

"How am I feeling? I'm feeling superb! I feel like making some of Fukube's Seafood Fried Rice
today!"

Looks like I've been thinking too much into this. I smiled.

"I'll be looking forward to it... I don't know if I'm getting this wrong, but we're only allowed to cook
rice from scratch. If you're going to make fried rice, wouldn't you have to cook last in order to
properly prepare?"

Fukube-san doesn't look too lively. As expected, perhaps his exhaustion is beginning to show on his
face.

An impressive crowd was gathered, about a hundred to two hundred, perhaps even more. To think
we're going to cook dishes in front of this many people... This feels a bit embarrassing.

"Um... if Mayaka-san is to cook last, who will cook first then?"

"Hmm? Chitanda-san, I did say we're gonna make rice, so maybe you should cook first."

"But it'll take more than an hour to prepare the rice, that would be too..."

I wasn't able to explain myself properly, but perhaps Fukube-san realized it from my gaze.

He replied, "Fine, I'll cook first. Guess that's it for Fukube's Seafood Fried Rice. I can make that
anytime!"

Oh no, you don't really have to say it so clearly.

Beside the makeshift kitchen counters was a podium, where The Cooking Club's president walked on
and began to explain the rules. With a loud voice, he began to introduce the participating teams.

"We have a total of five teams who've entered the tournament, but as we only have four counters, only
the first four teams to apply get to compete for the Wild Fire Cup.

"And now, the teams themselves. Entry No. 1: Team Ajiyoshi!"

It was a team with three third year male students. I took a glance at them and noticed two of them had
quite long fingernails. Could it be that they rarely cook?

"Entry No. 2: Team Fata Morgana!"

It was the team Fukube-san's friend was in. One of them looked quite calm and reserved. Perhaps he's
the chef's son from Miraku.

"Entry No. 3: Team Astronomy Club!"

Huh? It seems there's another club who thinks just like Fukube-san did and participated. One of their
members waved both her arms to greet the audience... We've met her before—it was Sawakiguchi-
san, who was dressed in her usual chignon hairstyle. Oh, she even threw a kiss to the audience. She
seems like a tough opponent.

"Entry No. 4: Team Classics Club!"

Fukube-san pumped his right fist into the air. I was at a loss for what to do, but still, I decided to bow
respectfully to the audience around us.

"The rules have been well explained in advance. Each team is to make three dishes. Ingredients are
available in the basket in the centre of the field on a first-come-first-serve basis. We often get cases
of participants only getting rice, so please plan what you need beforehand. If the ingredient basket has

run out, you are allowed to procure ingredients within the confines of Kami High. We have the
Gardening Club cooking sweet potatoes today, you know?"

Oh, I see. As the ingredients are first-come-first-serve, it would be better for the first contestant to
prepare the ingredients for his teammates as well. I'm glad that Fukube-san is cooking first, as I
would easily get overwhelmed by too many choices.

"And now, first participants, on your positions..."

"Well, I'll be going."

Fukube-san waved his arm and headed towards the tables making up the makeshift counter. The four
counters were set up in such a way that they surrounded the ingredients in the centre.

The Cooking Club president raised his voice from the podium.

"Wild Fire: START!"

The ingredients Fukube-san procured were three cups of rice, one bag of dried sardines, a bit of
frying oil, a bottle of sweet vinegar ginger, four blocks of tofu, half a radish, three spring onions, six
potatoes, a bit of black sesame seeds, 200g of sliced pork, one pack of sweet prawns, and a packet of
potato starch. As for seasonings and spices like miso, soy sauce, wasabi, chili pepper, it seems like
there is no limit on how much we can use them.

Fukube-san thought deeply for a bit before proceeding to boil a pot of water. Using the time the water
takes to boil, he began to cut up the spring onions. Taking one of the three spring onions he'd
procured, he began to chop them up into many tiny bits, though not as fast as professionals would
chop them. It hardly looked hazardous. He next took out the dried sardines. Ah, so he's preparing miso
soup.

Observing from the podium, The Cooking Club president began commentating on behalf of the
audience.

"Oh, looks like Team Classics Club sure are thorough! They're slowly taking out the intestines of the
sardines one by one! This is a very important step!"

After taking out the sardines' intestines, he began cutting up the radish into smaller pieces.

Wait, Fu-Fukube-san! There's no problem with how you cut up the radish, but you've forgotten to peel
its skin! But team members are not allowed to speak while their teammates are cooking. The radish!
The radish! I tried to motion my body in order to let him know... The radish!

After cutting up all the pieces, he finally seems to have noticed and took out a peeler. Oh dear! He's

peeling the skin off the small pieces he just cut one by one! But if you do that, they'll become too dry
by the time you put them into the hot water!

After peeling off the radish skin, he placed the dried sardines aside... Though as he'd taken care of its
innards, it shouldn't smell anymore. Fukube-san next turned his attention to the sliced pork. He walked
to the centre to obtain some miso paste. Of the three types of miso: red, white and koji, he had chosen
white. By now, even I knew what he was planning to make, and it was not plain miso soup. He now
held a miso soup spoon in his left hand and a regular spoon in his right.

Twenty minutes passed and on the stove of our kitchen counter was a pot of pork miso soup.

"Twenty minutes is up! Please swap places now."

Fukube-san ran back towards where we sat, and the first thing he said was, "Didn't go as well as I
thought!"

"The peeling of the skin?"

Fukube-san shook his head.

"Yeah that as well, but if I'm to make pork miso soup, I shouldn't have spent so much time taking care
of the sardine innards! That took up a lot of time..."

He was right, we cannot afford to waste that much time.

"I-I'm counting on you, Chitanda-san."

I nodded.

Please leave it to me.

030 - ♣10

And just when I was wondering how Chitanda-san's cooking would fare...

She's fast! Not just in her movement, but in how she manages to get the knack of things as well.
Despite the narrow space around her, she moves as though she has many limbs. Even the commentator
is astounded.

"What on earth is going on with Team Astronomy Club's second member Sawakiguchi? Just what is
she making? ...Whoa! Look at the superb way Team Classics Club's Chitanda is slicing the radish
skin!"

Before time, the radish skin has been peeled into what seems like a long thin sheet of paper. She next
placed the spring onion on the chopping board while preparing the sweet vinegar ginger. How does
Chitanda-san manage to move so swiftly when she's usually quite meek, I mean, gentle?

Using the thin radish pieces, she wrapped them around the spring onions and ginger before placing
them on the dish. That's one dish complete. Damn, and it's only been two minutes since she started.

It was then that Chitanda-san suddenly stopped moving, for about ten seconds. Just when I realized
what was going on, she began moving frantically again. "Ah yes, the rice." Phew, that's the Chitanda-
san I know.

Though she had only started to wash the rice, the way she washed it was incredibly thorough.

"Team Classics Club sure are taking their time to polish their rice... They're generously using up
every ounce of the six litres of water allocated to them! In order to bring out the best taste in their
rice, the Classics Club are cutting no corners with their resources! Look properly, that's the way you
wash your rice, by slowly draining the water with your hands!"

She was gentle, yet fast. Upon deciding on the amount of water to be used, she brought it to boil and
then turned her attention elsewhere.

"...Team Ajiyoshi has finished their second dish of miso soup. Are they planning on making a variety
of miso soup? Meanwhile, it seems Team Fata Morgana's teriyaki is going smoothly!"

Chitanda-san's movement became more and more intense. She wrapped the tofu with a cloth and
placed it in a bowl, then sprinkled salt and sugar on it while warming up the frying pan. No, she
wasn't simply warming up the pan, she was frying the black sesame seeds with oil. She then placed
and spread the tofu evenly across the pan. The commentary went ballistic.

"Oh my, Team Classics Club is making giseyaki! I am so moved to tears by Team Classics Club's
Chitanda!"

Sounds like a dish I've never heard of before...

Chitanda-san next began to peel the potato skin while occasionally turning to tend to the frying pan.
After peeling the potato skin, she took the tofu out of the pan. It now had an impressive colour as she
placed it on the chopping board. Cutting up the tofu, she placed it on another dish. That's the second
dish completed.

I could already smell the sweet aroma coming from the roasted sugar as well as the fried sesame. I
was lost for words, indeed, I felt like eating that myself!

"...A sweet scent is coming from the dish of Team Classics Club! How formidable, for them to
impress just by scent alone!"

Meanwhile, a sweet smell of roasted soy sauce came from Tani-kun's team.

"Team Fata Morgana has also finished their teriyaki. The colour looks superb. One cannot think of
these people as mere students. Just who are they?!"

You're dealing with Lady Chitanda Eru, daughter of the Chitanda farming clan! Remember her name!

There was no time to wash the frying pan. As soon as she filled the pot with water and brought it to
boil, without waiting she went straight for the sweet prawns, speedily removing their shells. She then
turned the fire down when the rice began to boil. And when the pot of hot water started boiling, she
threw in the sweet potatoes. Taking some radish, she began making wasabi sauce. Yup, guess that's
the way to prepare sweet prawns.

Meanwhile, she briefly cleaned the bowl that held the tofu a while ago and placed the starch in it. I
wonder what she's up to now. Feeling curious, I decided to look on.

Though the potatoes were now boiled, she didn't discard the soup right away. Using a pair of
chopsticks and the miso spoon, she skillfully scooped the contents out. After draining them of
moisture, she placed them into the bowl holding the starch and began grinding them with a mortar.
Was she good at making food that involves grinding stuff? Starch and boiled potatoes, just what was
she making? Cooking sure is complicated. People who possess the most surprises are the most
interesting after all. I'm very looking forward to this. Taking the white stuff that emerged from the
bowl, she wrapped them with a cloth and began squeezing them into lumps. She then dumped the
lumps back into the soup.

"It seems Team Astronomy Club is continuing with their Avant-Garde cooking, I pray for the health of
our judges... Whoa, Team Classics Club has just made imo-mochi! This Chitanda is extremely
skillful! But, are they going to be okay?"

Imo-mochi, huh? I like that a lot. By the way, how much time do we have left? Looking at my watch,
we still have two minutes. But wouldn't the commentator say something about the time if we're short
on it?

Looking at the kitchen counter, I see a row of dishes being lined up, as well as a row of utensils, and
the dishes now being prepared, and then the ingredients...

"AHH-~!"

I yelled. And instantly,

"Whoa there, Team Classics Club! No talking is allowed."

Damn, this is bad.

That's it, there's still time to let her know! This is really bad. Chitanda-san has made a grave error.
But can it be resolved? I crossed my arms over my head to indicate to her that she's making a mistake.

Chitanda-san seems to have noticed my gesture, has she realized?